As one kind of the connecting terminal which electrically conducts with a mating terminal being allowed to be inserted into the connecting terminal, there exists the one that the spring contact part has been provided in a terminal insertion part into which the mating terminal is to be inserted. The spring contact part with one end thereof being made as a free end, is provided along an insertion direction of the mating terminal. The spring contact part is elastically deformed by insertion of the mating terminal into the terminal insertion part and the spring contact part comes into contact with the mating terminal and the connecting terminal conducts with the mating terminal by the elastic force therewith (see Patent Literatures 1 to 4).
FIGS. 12 and 13 show a conventional example of this type of connecting terminal. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a connecting terminal 200 includes a tubular part 202 into which a plate-shaped mating terminal 201 is inserted, a spring contact part 203 extending from and arranging in the tubular part 202, and an electric wire connecting part 204 which connects to an electric wire W. The connecting terminal 200 are formed into a prescribed shape by shaping and bending a conductive plate member. Incidentally, the electric wire connecting part 204 has calking parts 204a, 204b. In a state where the connecting terminal 200 is housed in a terminal housing chamber 211 of a connector 210, the mating terminal 201 is inserted into the tubular part 202 of the connecting terminal 200.
A protruding part 205 protruding inside of the tubular part 202 is provided at a top plate part 202a of the tubular part 202. A position regulation part 206 which is formed by being cut and raised in an inward direction of the tubular part 202 from a baseplate part 202b is provided at the baseplate part 202b of the tubular part 202 and the position regulation part 206 regulates a displacement of the spring contact part 203 in a direction allowing insertion (a direction being orthogonal to the terminal insertion direction) of the mating terminal 201. The protruding part 205 is extended along the insertion direction of the mating terminal 201 and comes into contact with an upper surface of the mating terminal 201. The spring contact part 203 is provided with an indent 207 which protrudes toward the protruding part 205 and comes into contact with a lower surface of the mating terminal 201, and one pair of auxiliary spring parts 208 which respectively hang down from both sides of left and right of a free end (a rear end) of the spring contact part 203. A lower end of each of the auxiliary spring parts 208 can contact the baseplate part 202b of the tubular part 202.
When the mating terminal 201 is inserted into the tubular part 202, first, the spring contact part 203 is deflected and the lower ends of the auxiliary spring parts 208 contact the baseplate part 202b of the tubular part 202, and thereafter both of the spring contact part 203 and the auxiliary spring parts 208 are elastically deformed. As a result, a contact load between the spring contact part 203 and the mating terminal 201 increases. Accordingly, a spring force of the auxiliary spring parts 208 is applied to the spring contact part 203 and therefore a contact pressure itself with the mating terminal 201 is not reduced even in a structure of the spring pressure of the spring contact part 203 itself being reduced. Thereby, miniaturization and thinning of the plate thickness of the connecting terminal 200 can be achieved.